Ephphatha Moments
(Deut.4:1-2, 6-8; Jas.1:17-18, 21b-22, 27; Mk.7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23)
In our noisy and crowded world, it can be hard to find the peace we need to engage with our deeper, spiritual selves.
This is why we often yearn to withdraw to somewhere quiet for rest, reflection and healing. It’s a natural desire, and it’s reflected in Mark’s Gospel today.
Jesus is in Gentile territory, and a man who is deaf and cannot speak is brought to Him for healing. Jesus could have cured the man then and there, but instead He takes him to a quiet place where He gives him His undivided attention.
Jesus touches the man’s ears and tongue, and helps him feel what he cannot hear or say. Then in Aramaic Jesus says, ‘Ephphatha!’ – ‘Be opened!’ The man’s ears, lips – and his heart – are all opened, and his life is transformed.
Thankfully, most of us have little trouble with our eyes, ears and speech. However, today’s Gospel does raise the question of how well we use these gifts. Can we see as Jesus sees? Can we hear as He hears? And can we speak as Jesus speaks? Or is there room for improvement?
In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI spoke about this. He said, ‘…we all know that closure of man, his isolation, does not solely depend on the sense organs. There is an inner closing, which covers the deepest core of the person, what the Bible calls the “heart.”
‘That is what Jesus came to “open,” to liberate, to enable us to fully live our relationship with God and with others. That is why… this little word, “Ephphatha – Be opened,” sums up Christ’s entire mission.
Pope Benedict continues: ‘Jesus became man so that man, made inwardly deaf and dumb by sin, would become able to hear the voice of God, the voice of love speaking to his heart, and learn to speak in the language of love, to communicate with God and with others.’ [i]
What so many of us struggle with, then, isn’t so much our eyes, ears or speech, but our hardened hearts (Mt.13:13-15). It’s our stony hearts that hold us back.
Like Pharaoh and the Pharisees, many of us tend to be too concerned about ourselves, too disinterested in others, and too distant from God. This is what St James is talking about in today’s second reading.
It’s also what Jesus wants to heal.
Today, Jesus is offering us our own Ephphatha Moment. But what is an Ephphatha Moment? It’s a personal encounter with Jesus Himself. It’s a mystical and grace-filled moment when Jesus gently touches us and speaks to us in some way.
When this happens, our heart softens and we are surprised to find ourselves seeing and hearing new things, and even speaking in new ways.
Through the ages, many people have had Ephphatha Moments. St Paul had one on his journey to Damascus. That’s when Jesus confronted him, asking: ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ That question went straight to Paul’s heart and it led to him becoming one of the greatest of saints.
St Augustine also had an Ephphatha Moment. His stony heart had been stifling his search for spiritual growth. However, after visiting St Ambrose, the bishop of Milan, his heart began to soften and then he overheard a child say, ‘take up and read.’ He looked around, saw a Bible and started reading it. The experience totally transformed his life. [ii]
Thomas Merton had also struggled to find his spiritual self. After a fruitless search of Eastern traditions, he experienced his own Ephphatha Moment when a Hindu Monk said to him: ‘There are many beautiful mystical books written by the Christians. You should read St Augustine’s Confessions and The Imitation of Christ.’ He read those books. They opened his heart and he became a Catholic mystic and best-selling author. [iii]
The Sacrament of Baptism includes an Ephphatha Rite in which the minister touches the person’s ear and mouth, and says, ‘The Lord Jesus made the deaf hear and the dumb speak. May he soon touch your ears to receive his word and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father.’
This is such a beautiful blessing, but unfortunately many of us have become deaf and blind to our spiritual selves because of our sin, selfishness and stony hearts.
How, then, might you experience your own Ephphatha Moment? By carving out some quiet time and space for yourself, and asking Jesus to whisper ‘Ephphatha’ into your soul.
Be patient; Jesus doesn’t always respond immediately. But ask Him to open up your heart so that you may see, hear and speak, just as he does.
For an open heart is the way to healing, holiness and hope.
[i] Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus Address, 9 September 2012, https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/angelus/2012/documents/hf_ben-xvi_ang_20120909.html
[ii] St Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, Penguin Books, London, 1961.
[iii] Thomas Merton, The Seven Storey Mountain, Harcourt, NY, 1998.